From London, England, our respondent was surprised by the differences between the major Japanese and British cities. What were these exactly?

"In Japan, stores often make sounds outside, with speakers and people urging customers to come in. In the UK, stores don't make much noise outside, so when I came to Japan, I was surprised by the rather noisy environment."

There are many places in Japan where you can hear a fair amount of sound outside, especially at pachinko, convenience stores and karaoke shops. For someone accustomed more to an area of relative quiet, Tokyo might indeed seem rather flashy and, dare we say, fun. There are many street musicians playing in the UK, but it is said that the streets themselves are rarely lively, so it probably seems like a festival when you are in Japan.

Our British chap was greatly shocked by Japanese food. As it was tough for him to read menus in different shops, he felt more comfortable getting fried foods at convenience stores at first!

"There are Japanese restaurants in the UK, but actually I knew only ramen and sushi. Ashamed to say, I never thought there was any other Japanese food. I don't really eat raw fish in the UK, I didn't know what to eat!"

In fact, there are a variety of Japanese foods, including home cooking, traditional Japanese cuisine, and "B-class gourmet." There are also many ingredients that visitors from Western countries might have never seen before, and they seemed to have resisted eating at first.

Many of the foods sold at convenience stores and supermarkets are still not labeled in English, so it might be a run of roulette if you can only judge their contents by their appearance. But once you make up your mind and settle into adventurous foodie mode, you'll find so many new foods that are just delicious. The quality of the convenience store foods is also high, and you'll have many happy discoveries.

When our British friend first visited a Japanese izakaya pub, he was pretty surprised by how people share their food. In the UK, apparently it's not popular to share plates with others.

"I was really surprised to eat with all the others at the table at an izakaya, from hot pot dishes to small plates. In Britain, we typically order just what we want, and don't really share with others."

Although he had some initial resistance, he quickly got used to it and felt it was an interesting culture. Certainly in Japan, people often order as individuals and then share among the group - especially at izakayas. It might seem like a big diference from other cultures!

When our British respondent got on a Japanese train for the first time, he was surprised at the cityscape.

"I hopped a train from Narita Airport to Tokyo, but the space between houses was so narrow, between buildings. I wondered where people were walking."

According to him, in the UK, there tends to be more space between buildings and roads, and as a result the city isn't quite as clustered together as Tokyo.

Also, the appearance of power lines around the city was something new as well. In the UK, the wires are already underground and when going downtown, there aren't power lines visible.

In recent years, there have been talks about installing electric wires underground in Japan. Many neighborhoods are undergoing this gradual shift. If so, the cityscape may change rapidly in Japan as well.

Our British respondent was also surprised at how Japanese people spent their time on trains.

"Seems that everybody in Japan is constantly staring at their smartphone, like a zombie or something (laughs). Some people in the UK will be on their phone, but I don't think it's like how it is in Japan. And I was surprised at that whole scene."

Watching videos and using the internet. Spending time while using a mobile phone on a train has been common in Japan since the days of flip-phones.

In the UK in recent years, the number of people who used smartphones during their travel time has increased, yet many people still chatted with each other or just sat quietly until reaching their destination without doing anything. Quite a difference from Japan!

Our British interviewee had thought Japanese tended to be shy and not big fans of showing public affection, but he was surprised by a Japanese couple.

"Some Japanese couples kind of hung around and kissed in public! We know that couples are usually close in the UK, but I was surprised that Japan was the same way!"

It's embarrassing to flirt in public! Of course, there are couples who say that, but I think that the number of people who express affection is now way more than before. You often see couples holding hands. I used to think it was bad manners to show affection in public, so it's not just serious and shy people! It seems that his impression of the Japanese really changed.

People abroad might have the image of Japanese working incredibly hard, so that even they might understand our infamous word "karoshi," or "death by overwork." Yet it is true that once you come to Japan, your impression will change.

"I thought Japanese people were just working every day and didn't have time to spend with their families or eat out. But the reality is quite different."

It is said that the number of people going out to drink with coworkers has been on a recent decline, but Japanese are still quite busy, especially in the city!

He thought that many people did not know how to relax, so he was surprised when he arrived in Japan and saw the reality: that many people leave work on time and head out to enjoy time with friends, dates, or family.

People abroad likely have so many different images of Japan and the Japanese. But I think that when they actually come to visit Japan, they will likely be pleasantly surprised. I hope visitors can see for themselves a 'new' Japan!